Tourist Attraction in Dublin:Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle is a manor located on the southern bank of the Liffey in Dublin, the capital of Ireland. It was the center of English power in Ireland and for this reason it was for centuries seen as the symbol of British occupation in Ireland. The original Dublin castle was built in 1204 by King John of England. It was a medieval structure with four towers, a moat and a drawbridge. Most were destroyed by fire in 1684, and today only one of the four original towers remains, the Record Tower. The current castle, therefore, together with the state apartments, date back to the eighteenth century. It was the residence of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, who was the English representative in Ireland for over a century. In 1922 the "Free State" was proclaimed, and the castle was used by the Irish government. During the excavations of 1986, the base of one of the four round towers of the Norman castle (dating back to 1204) was discovered along with a part of the ancient city walls, in addition to the old castle moat. The Castle of Dublin was erected as a defensive work, thanks to Meiler Fitzhenry commissioned by King John of England in 1204, some time after the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169, and therefore it was prescribed that the castle had walls strong and a good moat for the defense of the city, the administration of justice and the protection of the local treasure of the king. Completed in large part in 1230, the castle was of typical Norman design, with a central square without prisons, surrounded on each side by high defensive walls and protected by circular towers at each corner. The city opened directly onto the northeast tower of the castle, the Powder Tower, and then moved south to the Bermingham Tower. In 1620 the English judge Luke Gernon was impressed by the castle walls during his visit, calling them "a strong and powerful wall". One of the architecturally most interesting spaces of the Dublin castle complex is certainly the corridor. Originally built in 1758 to a design by the Surveyor General, Thomas Eyre, the project is based on an eighteenth-century corridor project elaborated by Edward Lovett Pearce for the former Irish Parliament building in College Green, marked by a succession of arches and vaults, interspersed with from porthole with glasses that collect sunlight coming from above. Even today, the corridor retains all its plastic details, including white and gold stucco decorations, original doors and even fireplaces to heat the room. The Royal Chapel, part of the Dublin Castle complex, was the old chapel of the complex and was used as a chapel for the palace offices as well as a private chapel. The castle still includes two corner towers of the original structure, while the others present in the Norman era project have been demolished and today only the foundations remain. Bermingham Tower is one of the few original parts of the medieval castle. Located in the southwest corner of the castle, the tower has an upper part rebuilt in modern times, hence the current name. The Record Tower placed in the southeast corner of the castle is the only completely original part of the medieval castle that has been perfectly preserved. Currently the Dublin Castle is under the protection of the Office of Public Works, and hosts, among other things, the offices of the Revenue Commissioners, the Chester Beatty Library and the Garda Museum. The castle is today one of the main tourist attractions of the area, as well as an exclusive conference center. During the Irish Presidency of the European Union, it was the seat of some European Council offices. The crypt of the Royal Chapel is now used as an artistic center and hosts occasional concerts, as well as the central courtyard